Play x Play

Play x Play: The podcast featuring the best plays you've never heard of... and the people who make them.
We love theater. We love exploring new worlds, meeting fascinating characters, and witnessing the profound choices they make. But not every great story makes it to the stage. And even the ones that do can only be seen by a lucky few.
We're looking to change that. By finding the best unpublished plays, recording actors reading them, and releasing them as free podcasts, we're hoping to give these plays new life by making them accessible to anyone with internet access.
You can experience the cutting edge of the theater world, no matter where you live, how much you can pay, or how packed your schedule may be.
search terms: theater, theatre, plays, playwright, play by play, playxplay

We've been on a bit of a hiatus, but we have some new content coming down the pipeline! For today I've gathered a number of amazing playwrights to talk about Science Fiction and Theatre. Mac Rogers (Honeycomb Trilogy, Universal Robots), Gus Schulenburg (DEINDE, Jane the Plain), and Johnna Adams (Gideon's Knot, Skinless, Angel Eaters Trilogy) join me in this fascinating conversation.

Today’s episode features part 2 of ACIRFA by Aja Houston, an epic and lyrical play set in a mythic Afro-fantasy world examining ideas of Blackness, colonialism, slavery, and legacy. Aja wrestles with the ramifications of the American slave trade and the stripping of culture, dignity, and history experienced by enslaved African people. But what excited me more than anything else was the fact that Aja chose to situate this theatrical question in a fantasy setting. The exclusion and marginalization of people of color from speculative fiction had been long documented. Genre fiction writers often employ aliens or fantasy races like elves and goblins to address issues of race through allegory, but it’s rare that people of color get to imagine ourselves in these fantastical settings, much less as subjects of those imaginings. So with great excitement, I am proud to present to you, ACIRFA:

Today’s episode features part 1 of ACIRFA by Aja Houston, an epic and lyrical play set in a mythic Afro-fantasy world examining ideas of Blackness, colonialism, slavery, and legacy. Aja wrestles with the ramifications of the American slave trade and the stripping of culture, dignity, and history experienced by enslaved African people. But what excited me more than anything else was the fact that Aja chose to situate this theatrical question in a fantasy setting. The exclusion and marginalization of people of color from speculative fiction had been long documented. Genre fiction writers often employ aliens or fantasy races like elves and goblins to address issues of race through allegory, but it’s rare that people of color get to imagine ourselves in these fantastical settings, much less as subjects of those imaginings. So with great excitement, I am proud to present to you, ACIRFA:

Sex and Hunger by Kyoung Park, is a ribald and biting political and sexual farce focusing on a close knit group of the young, restless, and privileged.

Blake Williams: Daniel K. Isaac

Sonia Lee: Mieke Dee

Tomas Kovarik: Jesse James Keitel

Mike Eisenstein: Amir Wachterman

Sinta Mumberre: Veracity Butcher

Isabella Passolini: Jessica Weinstein

David Ricardo: Rafael Benoit

A reminder: Play x Play is a completely listener supported podcast, so if you'd like to support the artists that you heard, please become a backer of our Patreon campaign by going to www.patreon.com/playxplay

Sex and Hunger by Kyoung Park, is a ribald and biting political and sexual farce focusing on a close knit group of the young, restless, and privileged.

Blake Williams: Daniel K. Isaac

Sonia Lee: Mieke Dee

Tomas Kovarik: Jesse James Keitel

Mike Eisenstein: Amir Wachterman

Sinta Mumberre: Veracity Butcher

Isabella Passolini: Jessica Weinstein

David Ricardo: Rafael Benoit

A reminder: Play x Play is a completely listener supported podcast, so if you'd like to support the artists that you heard, please become a backer of our Patreon campaign by going to www.patreon.com/playxplay

Sex and Hunger by Kyoung Park, is a ribald and biting political and sexual farce focusing on a close knit group of the young, restless, and privileged.

Blake Williams: Daniel K. Isaac

Sonia Lee: Mieke Dee

Tomas Kovarik: Jesse James Keitel

Mike Eisenstein: Amir Wachterman

Sinta Mumberre: Veracity Butcher

Isabella Passolini: Jessica Weinstein

David Ricardo: Rafael Benoit

A reminder: Play x Play is a completely listener supported podcast, so if you'd like to support the artists that you heard, please become a backer of our Patreon campaign by going to www.patreon.com/playxplay

In Marielle Duke's The World to Come leads us into a haunting and beautiful meditation on motherhood, loss, faith, and mysticism. Two mothers struggle with the early loss of their children while the souls of their unborn children search for meaning and connection in limbo before leaving olam haba-- the world to come.

Calden was played by Chinaza Uche

Jai was played by Gabby Sherba

Ami was played by Emily Hartford

Sam was played by Ashley Bloom

James was played by Matthew Trumbull

Rebecca Davis read stage directions.

The episode was directed by Philip Emeott

A reminder: Play x Play is a completely listener supported podcast, so if you'd like to support the artists that you heard, please become a backer of our Patreon campaign by going to www.patreon.com/playxplay

In Marielle Duke's The World to Come leads us into a haunting and beautiful meditation on motherhood, loss, faith, and mysticism. Two mothers struggle with the early loss of their children while the souls of their unborn children search for meaning and connection in limbo before entering olam hazai-- the world to come.

Calden was played by Chinaza Uche

Jai was played by Gabby Sherba

Ami was played by Emily Hartford

Sam was played by Ashley Bloom

James was played by Matthew Trumbull

Rebecca Davis read stage directions.

The episode was directed by Philip Emeott

A reminder: Play x Play is a completely listener supported podcast, so if you'd like to support the artists that you heard, please become a backer of our Patreon campaign by going to www.patreon.com/playxplay

In today's episode, we return to Victorian England in Montserrat Mendez's hilarious play, "Thoroughly Stupid Things", a delightful unauthorized sequel to Oscar Wilde's "The Importance of Being Earnest."

Gwendolyn Fairfax and Insprector Raynier was played by Synge Maher

Cecily Montcrief was played by Mary Baynard

Mrs. Prism was played by Libby Collins

Lady Bracknell was played by Rob Maitner

Jack Worthing was played by Andrew Glaszek

Algernon Montcrief was played by Nat Cassidy

Bibi LaFlam was played by James Edward Becton

Merriman and Reverend Chausuble was played by Skid Maher who also read stage directions.

A reminder: Play x Play is a completely listener supported podcast, so if you’d like to support the artists that you heard just now, please become a backer of our Patreon campaign by going to www.patreon.com/playxplay

In today's episode, we return to Victorian England in Montserrat Mendez's hilarious play, "Thoroughly Stupid Things", a delightful unauthorized sequel to Oscar Wilde's "The Importance of Being Earnest."

Gwendolyn Fairfax and Insprector Raynier was played by Synge Maher

Cecily Montcrief was played by Mary Baynard

Jack Worthing was played by Andrew Glaszek

Algernon Montcrief was played by Nat Cassidy

Bibi LaFlam was played by James Edward Becton

and Reverend Chausuble was played by Skid Maher who also read stage directions.

A reminder: Play x Play is a completely listener supported podcast, so if you’d like to support the artists that you heard just now, please become a backer of our Patreon campaign by going to www.patreon.com/playxplay

A reminder: Play x Play is a completely listener supported podcast, so if you’d like to support the artists that you heard just now, please become a backer of our Patreon campaign by going to www.patreon.com/playxplay